Ninth graders blister Dexter

POPLAR BLUFF - The Sikeston 9th grade basketball team improved to 2-0 in the Poplar Bluff Round Robin Tournament on Wednesday with a 46-29 win against Dexter.

Sikeston (5-3) plays Poplar Bluff today at 6 p.m. to close out the tournament.

The Bulldogs controlled the game from the start, leading 14-6 after one quarter and 24-13 at the half.

The Bulldogs extended the lead to 38-20 entering the fourth quarter.

"We came in playing hard and aggressive," said Sikeston Coach Chris Sarakas. "We got out from the beginning of the game, we got them down and we did everything right to keep them there. Our defense shut them down and that helped get our offense going."

The Bulldogs had seven players score with Trey Spence leading the way with 12 points. Rodriguez Moore followed up with nine points.

Dexter had no player reach double figures.

"This is our second game in a row where we had a lot of people score," said Sarakas. "We're getting more people involved and that's exactly what we need. The bench came in and really did a nice job. They played hard and gave us a good effort."

CAPE GIRARDEAU -- Sikeston's eighth grade boys basketball team was defeated in the first round of the Cape Central tournament on Wednesday night, falling to Jackson, 52-23.

The Bullpups were seeded second in the tournament and Jackson was the No. 3 seed.

"We didn't play very well, but give a lot of credit to (Jackson)," said Sikeston coach Kevin Self. "They played well defensively, and everything they threw up seemed to go in. We played hard, but missed a lot of easy shots."

Joe Lincoln led the Bulldogs with six points. Julian Spencer scored five. Tarryl Booker and Blake Taylor each contributed four, and Jared Scott added two in the loss.